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Dylan Bundy‘s Orioles debut for the Delmarva Shorebirds versus the Asheville Tourists, a Rockies affiliate, marked the start of a fourth season scouting prospects in the South Atlantic League. In previous years, highly ranked pitching prospects have come and gone, bringing with them reportedly unhittable “stuff”. In most cases, those arms never live up to advanced billing as the prospect hype does not match performance on the field. With Dylan Bundy, his ability may have been undersold as exemplified by the lack of major media at his first professional start.

Video after the jump

In the first inning, Bundy peppered the strike zone with fastballs in the 95-98 MPH range. four-seamers exploded with late life up in the zone, while his two-seamer showed late, darting action to the front of the plate. Asheville hitters were completely overwhelmed by both fastballs which left scouts looking at each other confused over what had just occurred.

A veteran scout next to me commented, “He (Bundy) may not need to throw a breaking ball the entire start.” He followed up that comment by saying, “His fastball velocity is too easy. Did you see him throw in the outfield before the game? I’ve never seen a pitcher throw so hard from so far away.”

The good times continued into the second inning as I moved down the third base line to collect video and view the young right-hander from a side angle. Bundy threw more pitches in the second inning causing me to wonder about his fastball command and if it was an issue worth mentioning.

When focusing on counts and accompanying pitch types/locations, it became obvious Bundy was pitching with purpose. On a 1-2 count, he threw a two-seam fastball low-and-away to waste the pitch and followed that up with a four-seamer above the letters in an attempt to put the hitter away. Instead of pitching by the book, Bundy worked the sequence backwards, but definitely had a plan.

The third inning was a repeat of the first two as Bundy worked another perfect inning. He once again featured the fastball, but began throwing more off-speed pitches to simply get his work in. Still dominant, he continued to rack up the strikeouts against the seven-through-nine hitters who happened to be the best hitting prospects on the Asheville roster in shortstop Trevor Story, catcher Will Swanner and designated hitter Rosell Herrera.

Beyond the fastball, Bundy’s curveball was a 77-78 MPH offering which became tighter each time it was thrown. With sharp, late 12/6 action, combined with excellent arm speed, the pitch has the potential to be a plus offering. In such a short stint, his struggling to command the few curves thrown early was understandable. However, his throwing more of them in the third showed just how quickly Bundy was able to make in game adjustments.

At 83-86 MPH, Bundy’s changeup also improved throughout the outing. He left the pitch up in the zone early and was staying a touch tall on his follow through. Additionally, adrenaline can often lead to a pitcher overthrowing the changeup early. By the third inning, Bundy had ironed out his command of the pitch and even doubled up on it to Rosell Herrera. Herrera did have the hardest hit ball of the day off of a change, but it was laced foul towards the bullpen mounds. At its best, the pitch features heavy drop, nearly identical arm action to his fastball and creates a distinct third velocity for Bundy to pitch from. At present, it appears to be his third best offering, but that’s certainly not a knock considering the strength of the rest of his arsenal.

Beyond Bundy’s stuff, the young Oklahoman presents as if he’s already in a Baltimore Orioles uniform. An infielders dream, Bundy works quickly – sometimes only needing four to six seconds between pitches. In some respects, Bundy could be likened to a human pitching machine as he presents as the most efficient pitcher I’ve scouted in terms of pitching mechanics and expending energy on the mound.

Fangraphs chatters frequently ask how the Baltimore Orioles are going to “mess Bundy up” considering the lack of production from what was once considered the deepest collection of starting pitching prospects in the game in Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton and Brian Matusz. However, this is a new regime in Baltimore and the Bundy family has made it abundantly clear that his intense training regimen will continue to be a pillar of his development as a pitcher. After watching him loosen up during pre-game, it appears as if the Orioles organization is not messing with a good thing at this point which is quite progressive on its face.

In scouting Dylan Bundy, it was the first time I’ve truly left the park thinking, “I just watched a future ace.” With his already being in the top-10 overall in some prospect circles, his upward mobility is limited, but don’t be surprised if he finished 2012 as the top ranked pitching prospect in baseball with a legitimate shot at the number one prospect in baseball, period.

It is the good thing about sucking for years!

The O's have really made better choices with their draft picks in recent yrs and it looks like it is starting to pay off. Machado, Bundy, Schoop, Avery, Philips and Lee are all looking really good (where did Townsend come from?). I am hoping that players like Matusz and Weiters continue to improve. Weiters looks unbelievable early in the season and Matusz had a really good spring although he did not pitch well his first time out. Keep it going guys. The future is getting closer everyday. I think we need some more good trades to add more talent to our farm system. Look at Jones, Patton and Tillman. Tillman looked major league ready in the spring. Remember that he is still really young. Another good way to add talent; sign international players. Chen look very solid against the Yanks... Come on Soler sign with us!!!!

After National attention in his three inning, six strikeout, no hit, debute - Dylan Bundy will be on center stage again in his second start for the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Delmarva Shorebirds (4-2) @ Kannapolis Intimidators (2-4)
April 11, 2012 | CMC-Northeast Stadium | Kannapolis, NC | 7:05pm
Radio: ESPN Radio 960 The Sports Animal | Online: www.960thesportsanimal.com
Steve Melewski of MASN had this to say
"Bundy may stay in the three-inning range for some of these early starts. The Orioles certainly have a plan in mind for him for this season in terms of when they might move him to a higher level, but they are not letting on about just what that is right now.
As one member of the organization explained to me this week, they are looking at more than just performance from Bundy right now. They know he has quality pitches that can overmatch hitters in that league at times, but they also want to see how he makes adjustments during games and they just want him to get used to the routine of being a pro pitcher."